WOW. If I read the stack of books in the last photo I would think there is not much else in the world aside from Everest.

This was the first image I posted on SP seven years ago. It has an encouraging score of 12.78%.



Anyway, the books on my favourite mountain are:

Gillman, Peter and Haston, Dougal: Direttissima - The Eiger Assault, Harper & Row, New York, 1966.
Harrer, Heinrich: Das Buch vom Eiger, Pinguin, Innsbruck, 1988.
Roth, Arthur: Eiger Wall of Death, Victor Gollancz, London, 1986.
Zwahlen, Otto: Der Kampf um die Eiger-Nordwand, Berichthaus, Basel, 1936.
Haston, Dogal: The Eiger, Cassell, London, 1974.
Trevanian: The Eiger Sanction, Heinemann, London, 1973. (Fiction).
Zarsky, Bohusslav, Stena (Mountain wall), Nakladatelstvi, Ostrava, 1982.
Hiebeler, Toni: North Face in Winter, Barrie and Rockliff, London, 1961.
Lehne, Jörg and Haag, Peter: Eiger, Buchclub Ex Libris, Zürich, 1966.
Harrer, Heinrich: Den Vita Spindeln, Forum, Stockholm, 1960. (Swedish translation of “The White Spider”)
Eiger 1252-1988, Bergführerverein Grindelwald, 1988.
Harrer, Heinrich: Die Weisse Spinne, Ullstein, Berlin 1959.
Rubi, Rudolf: Der Eiger, Berner Heimatbücher, Verlag Paul Haupt, Bern, 1979.
Hiebeler, Toni: Abenteuer Eiger, Albert Müller Verlag, Rüsslikon- Zürich, 1973.
Harrer, Heinrich: The White Spider, Granada, London, 1979.
Ullman, James Ramsey: Straight Up - John Harlin, Doubleday, New York, 1968.
Harrer, Heinrich: The White Spider, Paladin Grafton, London, 1989.
Olsen, Jack: The Climb up to Hell, Victor Gollancz, London, 1963.
Gillman, Peter and Haston, Dougal: Eiger Direct, Collins, London, 1966.
Hiebeler, Toni: Eigerwand – Von der Erstbesteigung bis heute, Mosaik, München, 1985.
Hiebeler, Toni: Eigerwand - Der Tod klettert mit, Limpert, Frankfurt, 1964.

Not in the picture:
Langley, Bob: Traverse of the Gods, Bantam books, Toronto, 1982. (Fiction).
Anker, Daniel: Eiger – Die Vertikale Arena, AS Verlag & Buchkonzept, Zürich, 2000.

Vitaliy M. wrote:WOW. If I read the stack of books in the last photo I would think there is not much else in the world aside from Everest.

They are not ALL Everest books! I was into Everest books about 12 years ago, but have expanded my collection to others since I took that photo. The previous photo does include books about the Seven Summits, K2, Denali, Rainier, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

jpsmyth wrote:I really enjoyed Steve House's Beyond the Mountain.

^^^^ This. So much this.

Also, I really enjoyed the first few chapters of the The Boardman Tasker Omnibus. It seemed like after that it got into a bunch of big expedition siege stuff rather than fast and light small teams that reads so much better.

The Devil's Thumb essay from Into the Wild is awesome. I think the same story is into Eiger Dreams (also fantastic).

Thanks for all these other leads!

Eric Newby- A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

I really like these threads about books. I'm still somewhat new to Mountaineering so I have a lot of catching up to do. Typically after getting other SPer's feedback on books I get a new one and read it. Most of the books I've read I heard about here on Summitpost. Here's my list albeit not entirly climbing per se, but about Mountains nonetheless.
Mountaineering Stories:
1. The Climb, Anatoli Boukreev *** If you're gonna read Krakauer you should read Boukreev, Weathers, and Viesturs accounts as well.
2. The Armchair Mountaineer, ***(a collection of previously published pieces) Reuter & Thorn *** Great excerpts and short stories about legendary successes and failures.
3. Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson **** A good read, too bad about the all scandal that followed on the path of good intentions.
4. Climbing Free, Lynn Hill ***A good read, insights about Camp Four in the late seventies & early eighties. Lynn Hill grew up nearby and was in the same high school/graduating class with my wife.
5. No Shortcuts To The Top, Ed Viesturs ***** a great read, Ed's a badass, not as edgy or extreme as Mark Twight bud very damm cool IMHO.
6. Norman Clyde, Robert C. Pavlik ***** Clyde was the original Hard Man. What an inspiration, the only thing wrong with this book is that it was too short.
7. Annapurna, Maurice Herzog *** not so easy to read but a prerequisite for aspiring mountaineers.
8. Addicted to Danger, Jim Wickwire *** Good reading, shares the parallel, common thread with other mountaineers' life stories about choices and loss.
9. The Last Season, Eric Blehm **** the story about Randy Morgenson is good but the real story is the Sierra.
10. Left for Dead, Beck Weathers *** I had to get another fix for my Everst '96 obsession.
11. Touching the Void, Joe Simpson **** After watching the movie I wanted to read the book. The movie didn't leave much out but the book is well worth the read.
12. On the Ridge Between Life & Death, David Roberts *** a good read, different people and places but kind of similar to the Wickwire story.
13. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer **** Jon can definitely write, this is the one that started the Everest book frenzie. Like him? the book? or not? a must read.
14. Kiss or Kill, Mark Twight ***** Yep I'm giving this one five stars and I'm only half done. After this I'm giving myself permission to carry less and go faster.

Mountaineering References:
1. Backcountry Skiing, Martin Volken, Scott Schell, and Margeret Wheeler ****
2. Mountaineering , The Freedom of the Hills, the Mountaineers *****
3. Extreme Alpinism, Mark Twight *****
4. Training for Climbing, Eric Horst **

Guide Books: (no rating because some I haven't used enough to give fair feedback)
1. Bishop Area Rock Climbs, Peter Croft & Marty Lewis
2. The High Sierra, Peaks, Passes and Trails, R. J. Secor
3. Hidden Treasures East, Big Bear Basin, Brad Singer
4. Rock Climbing Joshua Tree, Randy Vogel
5. John Muir Trail – Day & Section Hikes, Kathleen Dodge
6. Climbing California’s Fourteeners, Stephen Porcella & Cameron Burns
7. Ski and Snowboard Summits In California, Paul Richins, Jr.
8. Rock Climbing Tahquitz and Suicide Rocks, Randy Vogel and Bob Gaines
9. Mount Whitney – The Complete Trailhead To Summit Guide, Paul Richins, Jr.
10. Climbing Mt. Whitney, Walt Wheelock and Wynne Benti
11. Mount Whitney Guide For Hikers and Climbers, Paul Hellweg & Scott McDonald
12. Mount Whitney – Mountain Lore From The Whitney Store, Doug Thompson
13. The Mt. Shasta Book, Andy Selters & Michael Zanger
14. Mt. Shasta – Route 1 Avalanche Gulch, Steve Lewis